The Journey

Hello!

Welcome to my venture in blogging about one of my favorite topic—beer. I love everything about the bitter brew from the first recorded history of recipes carved on ancient Babylonian tablets, to the brewing process, to sampling different types of beer in my travels around the world.

Beer worshipping became second nature to me from the moment I was born in Yakima, Washington, the Hop Capital of the US. I grew up seeing the hops on the vine and used by my father in his home brews. One of my uncles was Brew Master for Rainier Brewery and another is currently a brewer for Red Hook.

Some of my earliest memories are of the aroma of the hops, grains, yeast and barley simmering and combining to make the wort. For those of you who haven’t heard of the term, wort is the liquid portion that is created from cooking down the basic ingredients. It’s the liquid that will eventually become beer after the fermentation process. That full discussion is for another day…and future blog post!

Back to the task at hand…

I joined the Coast Guard in 1994 and was able to travel all over the world. My first unit was assigned to the icebreaker the Coast Guard Cutter Polar Sea. We traveled throughout the Pacific including the Artic, Antarctica, Fiji and Australia. It was during that tour of duty my fascination with trying out the local beers in every port. Once back in the Pacific Northwest my passion grew to the point I wanted to try brewing myself.

Near the end of my two decades in the USCG, I ended up stationed in Northern California and able to throw myself into my new hobby with my cousin. Together we tested the waters with a few tried and true recipes before venturing out on creating our own. We had a few that bombed, but most turned out very well. We even placed second in a beer tasting contest during Coast Guard Days. We beat out several other fabulous brews and from that moment on, the call to create more intensified.

Now that I’m retired and researching what I want to do with the rest of my life, home brewing is still at the top of the list. My wife suggested I share my love for all things beer with others through blogging. This way I can write about the wonderful, unique, off the wall and downright strange brews out there. My research has enabled me to meet new friends, tap old ones, find new home brewers and talk to established Brew Masters.

As this blog grows, I hope to be able to share the hidden treasures of the Pacific Northwest, great brewery supply stores and the fun of sharing a pint for you and me.

A glass in the hand’s worth two on the shelf—Tipple it down and refresh yourself! — Anonymous